MILFORD, Conn. – Sacred Heart scored three goals in the second period and the Army hockey team couldn’t cut into the lead in the third period as the Pioneers earned the series victory with a 5-2 win on Saturday night in the first round of the Atlantic Hockey Tournament.
Army (8-22-4) got goals from Mac Lalor and Brendan McGuire in the final frame, while Parker Gahagen made 31 saves. Maurice Alvarez, Tyler Pham and Joe Llaurado each had assists in the game as well.
Sacred Heart (13-17-6) moves onto the quarterfinals as five different skaters had goals. Jordan Minello was the teams high scorer with two points, while Alex Vazzano had 23 stops in front of the cage.
There was no score after one period, but the frame ended up with some drama as the Pioneers looked to have taken a 1-0 lead with a power play goal. Sacred Heart had a low 3-on-1 and crashed the net. Gahagen made the initial stop, but on a rebound the puck hit the back of the net. The referee pointed to the cage to signal goal and the Pioneers celebrated. There was a review and it was determined that Gahagen was impeded from making a save. Sacred Heart had a 14-7 shot advantage in the opening frame.
The Pioneers had a big second period with three goals in a span of just over five minutes. Ben Lake got the run started with his ninth of the season with an odd-man rush up ice at the 15:33 mark. Minello found Lake in front and he put it home for the 1-0 lead. Sacred Heart increased its lead to two goals 1:31 seconds after breaking the ice. Jeff Carroll fired a shot from the high slot that got deflected by an Army defensemen and it ended up at the near post. Brian Sheehan was standing there alone and jammed it home. Gahagen made the commitment to the first shot and couldn’t get back in position.
The lead pushed up to three goals with 10:20 left in the middle frame. Alec Butcher scored his second goal of the season. This time it was a shot through traffic from the left point that went through traffic and past Gahagen. Army had the lone power play of the second power play of the second period and managed one shot.
Army got what it needed in the first few minutes of the third with a power play goal from Lalor. He made a nice move at the blueline and maneuvered around another defender to get open. He slid a wrist shot past Vazzano for the first goal of the series for the Black Knights. Sacred Heart didn’t waste time getting the three-goal advantage back. It took the Pioneers 27 seconds to make it a 4-1 game with Danforth scoring.
McGuire was able to cut the lead back down to two goals at the 4:53 mark of the third period with a tip in front. He didn’t stop working at the side of the net and deflected a Llaurado shot from the point and it was a 4-2 game. Sacred Heart finished the game with an empty-netter from Minello to close the scoring at 5-2.
Game Notes: Army finishes the season with an 8-22-4 mark … seniors Alvarez and Lalor get points in their final game … classmates Josh Richards and Zak Zaremba skated in their final game in an Army uniform … the rookie class finishes with 30 goals and 53 assists for 83 points this season … Pham ends his first campaign with 29 points with an assist tonight … he led the Black Knights in points with nine goals and 20 assists.
